TRANMERE made it four clean sheets in a row when they came home with a point from the 0-0 draw at Stockport County in midweek.

That's six hours of football without conceding a goal. Who would have thought it, after watching Millwall punch holes through the Rovers defence in a 3-1 win at Prenton Park three weeks ago.

One thing that has change since then is the team's formation. Manager Ronnie Moore switched from 4-4-2 to a 4-5-1 system at Leyton Orient the following week and has stuck to it, home and away, ever since.

It looks like he's found a system that works well with the players at his disposal.

I think 4-5-1 can be a positive formation when it is used in the right way. By having the creative ability of Chris Shuker and the pace of Ian Moore in the wide positions, Tranmere can turn defence into attack swiftly and effectively.

The pair are able to support striker Bas Savage quickly, so that 4-5-1 becomes 4-3-3 when Tranmere are in possession. It's when the opposition have the ball that Ronnie Moore has been asking the two wide players to make sure they get back and help out defensively. Then Savage does become the lone man up front.

Ian Moore and Shuker are mobile enough to get back and do their bit in frustrating the opposition. It's a question of taking responsibility and it is clear the pair have been able to do that.

Not that we should take anything away from the defenders' contribution to the improving goals against record. Goalkeeper Danny Coyne has been making a few good saves, as you would expect him to.

And you cannot ignore the fact that the run of clean sheets began when Ian Goodison returned to the centre of the back four after missing the Millwall game through international duty.

Ronnie Moore is concerned that Goodison could be missing at MK Dons this afternoon after limping off in the final minutes of the Stockport game with a hamstring injury.

If Goodison does not play then we will have another chance to assess Rovers' defensive back-up and if they are able to cope without the most effective defender at the club. The 4-5-1 system should provide the team with more protection than last time Goodison was missing.

When I played, the wingers were not expected to do so much defensive work. Certainly not John Morrissey and Pat Nevin.

We did not ask them to come back and help us because we, as defenders, were confident of our ability to keep things tight at the back. We would tell Morrissey and Nevin to get forward and do what they were good at. We did not want to see them.

John King was an adventurous manager and one of the first to play with a sweeper. He would use a 5-3-2 system with Mark Hughes as a sweeper between centre backs Dave Higgins and Steve Vickers. Mark played the role so well he got a few caps for Wales doing it.

John King liked to have players who understood the game. They could work things out for themselves and did not need a lot of coaching.

These days it’s a little different but I am very encouraged by the way the current team have got into a challenging position in League One over the last month.

If Rovers are still occupying a top 10 spot after Christmas then I think there's every chance of them being involved in the promotion shake-up. This division is wide open.